Aghh! Tooth Decay. It's just waiting to strike!

It’s a well know fact that liquorice has been an important herb in Chinese medicine for many years, but a prevention for tooth decay? I'm not so sure. Anyway, if it is true, then I wished I new about this when I was a candy crunching kid.

I used to boast about how healthy my teeth and gums were as a youth and tease my sisters as they had to endure the dentists drill while having their young cavities filled and braces clamed around their teeth. I was addicted to candy and anything with sugar in it, but for some reason my nashers remained perfect despite abuse and lack of care. Alas, it all backfired when I reached the tender age of 17 and had my fist filling. Tooth decay seems to have plagues me ever since that day, and it seems like I’m always visiting the dentist for all the wrong reasons.

What about you? Do you like soft drinks, bubble gum and lots of sweets? No, I'm not offering you a free gift basket; I just wanted to know how well you're taking care of your teeth. As you're probably already aware, sugars and artificial sweeteners have a horrible effect on our choppers. The more you consume of this stuff, the more you should be brushing. Heck, no one wants to end up with tooth decay. Because we all know what this means. Look at my example! Back to the old drill man. Yep, I'm talking about the dentist.

Who loves to head in for those six month check-ups? Yeah, I'll bet no one raised their hand for that one. The fact is that tooth decay is a serious pain in the butt. Not only does it hurt like mad, but it costs you some money as well. Are you ready to fork over that cash for a new filling? And what about that atrocious drilling sound? We can all agree that it's not one of the finer pleasures in life. Therefore it's time to get your toothbrushes ready, folks. If you don’t, well, Mr. Rot is doing pushups in the background just waiting to strike. Don’t let the outside appearance of your pearly whites fool you, as tooth decay can start as an inside job.



Have you ever had a bout with tooth decay? I have to admit as a youth I was rather careless with my precious choppers. As a consequence of that, I was just 19 when I recall going to the dentist for a check-up and finding out I had six cavities. Yep, I did say six. That was a bad day for sure. Not just for me, but for my mother's wallet as well. My sister’s where overjoyed with my rotting fangs though. I guess it was payback for all that teasing a dished out to them with their tooth problems prior to my own dental disasters. Just imagine all that drilling and bone dust floating through the air. It's become a personal horror movie of mine, but what’s worse is that it never had to happen.

Anyway, the best way to prevent horrid tooth decay is by keeping your pearly whites clean. This does not just mean a quick brush before bedtime. There is a little more effort to it than that. You'll want to be sure you're using a good toothpaste like Colgate Total. No matter how many dentists I've seen, they always recommend this one. You'll want to make sure you brush for at least two minutes each time, and try to brush at least twice a day.

In addition to brushing well, you should always floss one a day after brushing. And to top it off you can throw in a daily fluoride rinse. This routine is essential for preventing tooth decay. When you're not polishing your choppers, you should be treating them right. This means staying far away from soft drinks, sugary chewing gums, and hard candies. All of which can wreak serious havoc on your teeth. For more information regarding tooth decay, see your family dentist or hop online.

Finally, and if you can do it without reaching, dentists are now saying we should brush our tongue before bedtime too. I didn’t even ask why, but I will do anything the ole tooth doctor tells me these days. Just remember folks, prevention is better than cure and tooth decay is no fun, that’s for sure.